Remains ID'd as missing Oak Ridge teenager

Remains found near a submerged 1996 Ford Ranger truck in a South Knoxville waterway last week have been positively identified as those of missing Oak Ridge High School graduate Derek Ryan Funk.

Riussel Langley/The Oak Ridger

Remains found near a submerged 1996 Ford Ranger truck in a South Knoxville waterway last week have been positively identified as those of missing Oak Ridge High School graduate Derek Ryan Funk. Derek was only 19 years old when he went missing on May 12, 2010.

Darrell DeBusk of the Knoxville Police Department stated in a Tuesday email that the remains have been “positively identified” as Derek. He said the cause of death has yet to be determined and that the investigation is continuing.

Kevin Funk stated in a Tuesday phone interview that the family had just been notified of the identification. Derek’s father said he wasn’t surprised.

On Friday, as the several days’ investigation was still getting underway, Kevin shared with The Oak Ridger: “We have prayed for (Derek) or his truck to be found. … Now we have to be prepared to deal with the answer that God has given us.”

KPD public information officer DeBusk stated in a phone interview Friday that someone working off Island Home Avenue saw the wheels of an upside-down vehicle protruding from the water on Thursday and called authorities.

Around noon Thursday, officers responded under the initial belief a vehicle had just gone off the roadway and into the water in the 1400 block of Island Home Avenue. As the pickup was recovered, however, it was quickly determined the vehicle “had been in the water for an extended period of time.”

Though no remains were found in the truck Thursday, a dive team with the Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad returned to the area Friday “to search for additional evidence under the surface of the water.”

“The dive team has been successful in locating human remains,” Friday’s KPD release stated. “It is undetermined at this point if the remains are those of Mr. Funk.”

In another Friday afternoon email, DeBusk reported: “The investigation into the vehicle and human remains discovery is continuing. Additional remains have been discovered by the Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad’s dive team.

“It will likely be at least sometime next week before the remains can be positively identified. Knoxville Police Department missing persons investigators, along with investigators from the major crimes division are working together to determine if the person who has been discovered in the water died as a result of a homicide,” Friday afternoon’s email stated.

“Currently, we are working with additional law enforcement agencies to investigate leads that have developed as a result of the vehicle discovery. We will continue to provide updates as the multi-agency investigation continues.”

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“He loved his job,” Derek’s mother Tricia told The Oak Ridger in a May 2010 interview — just one week after Derek’s disappearance. He had worked for East Tennessee Railroad for two years, she said.

A Knoxville television station’s news story at the time reported Derek had been “severely depressed,” but his mother said that wasn’t the case.

In Friday’s more recent phone conversation with The Oak Ridger, Derek’s parents said they had had a busy day after the story broke — one that was filled with television interviews, visitors and calls.

Knoxville police officials reportedly notified and met with the Funks early Friday morning — before the story regarding the submerged vehicle was made public — so they were aware of the situation, Kevin Funk told The Oak Ridger.

He also said all the investigators, media representatives and well-wishers had been very nice and understanding to them.

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Now Derek’s parents have to wait until the remains are released before they can make final preparations for a son who went missing almost four years ago.

Kevin Funk said they have been told the remains will likely be released in another week.